Maybe, but I can't recall any of the "redheaded stepchild" references I heard specifying beating. Bad treatment, yes, but more in the sense of being the "un-favorite" who gets picked for all the crap details and worked like a slave when doing them. Oh, and spoken of demeaningly, too; one of the sergeants I worked under used to say he'd "talk about you like a stepchild" if the person he was warning fouled up.
Along similar lines, when's the last time anybody heard the expression, "talk about you like a dog," again referring to demeaning speech? This was probably another one with Southern origins, because whenever it passes through my mind's ear, it's pronounced, "dawg."
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
Along similar lines, when's the last time anybody heard the expression, "talk about you like a dog," again referring to demeaning speech? This was probably another one with Southern origins, because whenever it passes through my mind's ear, it's pronounced, "dawg."
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.